One of the greatest things that we can do, as a citizen in our communities, is give back. Over the weekend, I was honored to be able to interview the great Dr. William Finlayson. Over the course of our interview he revealed the many ways that he’s contributed into making a change right here in Milwaukee.
Before retiring in 1998, Dr. Finlayson was a gynecologist that was dedicated to helping women to stay healthy. But his great work didn’t stop there.
He owned many insurance companies, a credit union, and also was part founder of the Milwaukee State Bank. The bank stood strong for over 40 years and was formed with the intent to serve minorities.
In 1968, a group was formed that focused on the talk of the bank. Many members of the community contributed ideas and funds to get things going. Once established, lots of minority’s joined after being turned away by other banks.
“It was hard for minority’s to get approved for loans, based off my own experience,” Finlayson says as he expressed why they began to start the bank.
The only problem was, when people came to get loans, many people didn’t have the means to follow through with their payments. This put the bank in a tight situation where they were forced to raise capital a few times and eventually became the reason for the closing.
Issues as such, touched home for him and he wanted to make difference, especially since he was in a position to. Although the bank closed down, he counts is as a blessing because of the fact that they were able to serve so many people for so many years.
After the interview, he brought an interesting perspective to my mind when I think of success. I feel many of us millennials are turned off by college education. Many think that college is waste of time and money. Many of us fear not being able to find work in our selected field.
But on the contrary, what if it’s a matter of finding a field that interest us and instead of working until we die or retire with just pennies in our bank account, how about work with big goal in mind.
Dr. Finlayson studied for many years, worked hard, and invested his money wisely. Needless to say, he worked for many many years, simply because he loved his line of work, not because he needed to make ends meet.
His story has truly inspired me to keep excelling in all that I do and to continue to push for greatness. I think it’s extremely important for more millennials to examine the greats while pushing for a better future.
Thank you, Dr. William Finlayson. Your hard work and elite wisdom is much appreciated.
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